Barely three weeks ago, Christian Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell, the most sparkling of the former Spice Girls, seemed to be roaring along in the fast lane, just as they had been doing since marrying a decade ago.
Then the wheels came off in spectacular fashion, with Horner, 51, sacked as Red Bull F1 boss after 20 trophy-strewn years during which his team had picked up no fewer than eight drivers’ championships.
But is the proverbial roof now about to cave in on the home front, too?
I ask because the couple, who have an eight-year-old son, Monty – as well as Bluebell Madonna, Geri’s daughter by a previous partner – must steel themselves for what could be grim news concerning their idyllic 15th-century manor house on the Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire border.
In April this year, Christian and Geri, 52, pressed ahead with the creation of an outdoor kitchen to complement a helipad, orangery, stables, boating lake and a brace of swimming pools – one indoor, one outdoor.
Barely three weeks ago, Christian Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell, the most sparkling of the former Spice Girls, seemed to be roaring along in the fast lane just as they had been doing since marrying a decade ago
Then the wheels came off in spectacular fashion, with Horner, 51, sacked as Red Bull F1 boss
Making a splash? Geri and Christian have submitted an application for retrospective planning permission for works at their Grade II-listed home
Construction of a pergola and a gazebo – both oak-framed and including an area where 16 can sit in comfort – have proceeded apace. But there’s a snag.
In their excitement, the couple neglected to apply for planning permission – a necessity, as their five-bedroom house is not only Grade II-listed but is in a designated conservation area.
It’s a surprising oversight given that last year the couple’s proposal to ‘introduce’ the 40ft by 16ft outdoor pool was denounced as ‘the height of disrespect’ by one neighbour, who pointed out that it would be so close to the village church that mourners could be ‘distracted by screaming, shouting and splashing’ as the Horners and chums and their children cavorted in the pool.
Evidently keen not to push their luck too far – and aware that the council can order them to demolish any unauthorised work – the couple are trying to rectify matters by applying for retrospective planning permission.
Poignantly, they finally submitted the paperwork just a day before the chequered flag came down on Christian’s Red Bull career…
Emma and ace Serena set fans’ hearts a-flutter
Emma Weymouth found fame on Strictly Come Dancing – and it appears her next big step could be in flamenco dancing.
The Marchioness of Bath, 39, and her tennis star pal, Serena Williams, 43, were both seen wearing traditional Spanish flamenco outfits and fluttering fans at an extravagant outdoor dinner reception – thought to be in Spain – in a picture Emma posted online.
‘Nothing beats a Jet2Holiday,’ wrote Emma, referring to the tagline from the British holiday company which has now gone viral on social media.
Fan-tastic: Emma Weymouth (right) appears alongside her tennis star pal, Serena Williams
A racy nightie out for Lila and pals
A daring negligee is usually saved for behind closed doors, but for Kate Moss’s daughter Lila and her pals Lady Lola Crichton-Stuart and fashion designer Annie Doble it’s a look that is equally suitable to wear on a night out.
The trio wore matching Christmassy red lace slips that cost £335 from a new collaborative capsule collection between Doble’s label Annie’s Ibiza and Debute, which was launched by Lady Lola, daughter of the late racing driver Johnny Dumfries, and her half-sister, actress Jazzy de Lisser, last year.
‘It’s about sisterhood and friendship and community,’ Lola, 26, has said of the brand.
A night out at the laces: From left, Lady Lola Crichton-Stuart, Annie Doble and Lila Moss
The Old Etonian tie used to be a passport to all manner of benefits. But £63,290-a-year Eton, which has educated 20 prime ministers, is aware that it cuts no mustard in Sir Keir Starmer’s Britain. Pointing out there were ‘1.2 million applications for just 17,000 graduate roles’, the Old Etonian Association says ‘it’s no surprise that many OEs are finding it hard out there’. Now Eton’s hosting guidance weekends. One is ‘Finding Your First Job’. Presumably the other – ‘Redirecting Your Career’ – will be led by ex-glossy mag supremo Sir Nicholas Coleridge, now Eton’s Provost.
Python star’s heartbreak over Helen’s NHS treatment
The NHS have issued an apology to Sir Michael Palin after he voiced his anger at the mistreatment of his wife Helen Gibbins, who died two years ago from kidney disease.
‘The whole system was very inefficient,’ says the Monty Python actor, 82.
Ms Gibbins had been undergoing dialysis treatment at NHS St Pancras Hospital in London.
The broadcaster says of their service: ‘The people who collected her were sometimes an hour late.
‘Sometimes, they didn’t turn up; it was a very, very difficult period for her.’
The NHS have issued an apology to Sir Michael Palin after he voiced his anger at the mistreatment of his late wife Helen Gibbins
The transportation used to take Helen to and from St Pancras was managed by logistics company DHL, though an NHS representative says of any failures: ‘It’s our responsibility, ultimately’.
An official NHS statement reads: ‘We are sorry that Sir Michael’s late wife Helen had a poor experience of the patient transport service.
‘In the past two years we have worked closely with our transport provider to improve waiting times – particularly for dialysis patients.
‘We have received positive feedback about the improvements we have made, and this work continues.’
Helen, a teacher who later became a bereavement counsellor, spent her final days being treated at a Marie Curie hospice in London’s Hampstead.
‘She was happier than I’d seen her for six years, to be honest,’ says Palin, who married Helen in 1966, and continues to live in the modest Gospel Oak house he bought with her that year.